Is it easier to catch flies with honey than with vinegar?

Since most of my playing was on the Sega Genesis 91-97 last century, take my comments from the perspective of an old geezer who dabbled in NHL 26, and had issues just trying to find the menu item to "play with a friend" locally in the waterfall of cascading menus. This crusty gamer went ahead and bought NHL 26, because, well, he loves hockey and gaming. 

Coming in during the middle of Season 2, a world of hockey gaming twists was opened upon him. The game now had card collecting as part of it's structure. Smart, joining two hobbies into one, EA. Suppose it was inevitable, but EA did it. It's funny how the thrill of the pack opening resembles the thrill of gambling, but for all ages! ;)

I must say, with the memories of the past game, it's amazing the amount of content, the options, and the dazzling mechanics of the game. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely, knowledge is always limited and continually needing being added to.

But, let's give the developers a little credit, they read this stuff and watch social media for comments, criticisms, and, rarely, compliments. This will be leaning toward the latter. 

Good job guys. In between coffee breaks and the occasional shower, you have managed to create a great game in my opinion. Unfortunately, the speed and ease of commercial consumption has led to the sometimes unrealistic demands of consumers. 

But through all the criticism,  through all the negative comments, we have to remember, we are showing that we truly love the game. Otherwise, why would we bother writing? 

After skating into HUT Cup Chase, I was pulled into the card collecting aspect of the game.  I found real card collecting nteresting, but never got into it like others. But it hooked me. The art is cool on the cards of each set and player. They could probably do well as NFTs. Could you imagine owning a truly unique player to put on your line? Uh-oh, did I just unleash something? 

Then through social media, forums like this, and videos, I gave HUT Wildcard a try. "Hmm, ok, this is cool, so this is where 3v3 is. What's with this scoring moneypuck stuff? Oh that's cool, brings some leveling of the playing field and upsets into it."

After more videos and forums, I tried HUT Moments. Wow, another great twist to the game. And another currency? "Man, there's a lot of different currencies in this game. But wait, they tie together with the other modes of the game. Wow, that's neat, can't really get bored with all the types of hockey modes, possibilities, and rewards."

Being an offline player and playing at rookie level, I know the guys that are online are incredibly good. The equivalent of firing up an online FPS and getting hit by a headshot as soon as you spawn. Getting into HUT Moments had me playing against pros, causing me to improve my game. "Ok, I see, pass faster, be sure to have a lane, cycle the puck..."  This method of leading the player up the skill ladder, is clever. We have to appreciate the developers intelligence on this one. EA wants everyone to play, and do a good job leveling the ice for all players. 

In hindsight, I thought it might be nice to have an overview help section in the game, not online, there's too much to sift through on the different websites. A handy in-game manual of game types, currencies, controller configurations, button assignments and combinations. (This might quiet the L2 glitch critics showing that EA is aware of it?) On the other hand, it's a fun challenge exploring all the options. It still keeps me entertained. 

In closing, let's give the EA team a stick salute on the ice, they are listening and trying to give us what we want. The EA team is just as alive as we players and wanting to do a good job, so we can have a good time and they can put food on their tables. 

I'll go back to the game now, I'm in the finals of my offline Cup Chase season, and am about to finish the HUT Moments objectives for more 89s to put into my first-ever created master set player. Think I'll get Gretzky, but I like Roy too. If ya get someone too good, the rest of the line can't keep up. It's a great feature of Wildcard that one gets to actually try new players before committing the time and effort into obtaining them. After that, I'll finish the Trade Quest event and season 3 with more than I expected and had so much fun with the game. I'd say I got more than my money's worth. 

When it gets aggravating that I can't complete a moment on the first try, I appreciate the opportunity to get better that EA has afforded, I'll be able to be a worthy opponent online someday. When I don't win enough to make it to the cup Chase finals, I look at all the rewards I received along the way and am glad that the game developers can demand and pull more skill from me. When I finally do get that 91 ovr player as a reward, it's a juicy, fulfilling moment.

It's about having fun and when it becomes too aggravating, I know I need a break. Take a deep breath, pet the dog, and find a way to get back to having fun.

That's not to say, EA, that we wouldn't mind you patching a few things up and releasing new content while you're at it. There's always room for improvement and hence, you have a little job security.

Now go take a shower, have a cup of coffee, and do your best to integrate all the stuff in the comments and social media that we want into the game. Fix the stuff that's broken, and keep us happy in hockey-land, mmm-kay? Oh, and we're gonna need you to come in on Sunday too, mmm-kay?.....thaaanks!